In the depths of falsehood there is Truth...

When a man looks at the ocean, he can only see that part of it which comes
within his range of vision; so it is with the truth.

Bowl of Saki, by Hazrat Inayat Khan

Commentary by Pir-o-Murshid Inayat Khan:

As there is water in the depths of the earth, so there is truth at the bottom of
all things, false or true. In some places, one has to dig deep; in other places,
only a short distance; that is the only difference. But there is no place where
there is no water. One may have to dig very, very deep in order to get it; but
in the depths of the earth, there is water, and in the depths of all this
falsehood that is on the surface, there is truth. If we are really seeking for
the truth, we shall always find it.

Man with his learning becomes so proud that he thinks there is nothing else
worthy of attention. He does not know that there is a perfection of wisdom
before which he is not even like a drop in the ocean. Man looks at the surface
of the ocean, yet he is so small that he cannot even be compared with one of its
drops, limited as he is in intellect and knowledge. He seeks to find out about
the whole of creation, whereas those who have touched it have bowed before God,
forgetting their limited selves. After that God remained with them and spoke
through them. These are the only beings who have been able to give any truth to
the world.

When we consider the mystics and thinkers who look at life from a spiritual
point of view, they all agree, be they Yogis, Sufis, Buddhists, or Christians --
it does not matter which. When they arrive at a certain stage of understanding
they all agree, they all have the same experiences, they all have the same
realization to which they come in spite of all differences of form: those who
look at the surface see variations, but those who look below the surface see one
and the same truth hidden beneath all religions, which have been given at
different times by different masters. Naturally, therefore, the method of
expression is different, but when one comes to the essence it is all one and the
same, and those who are spiritually evolved come to the conclusion that they do
not differ one from the other in their belief.

All beliefs are simply degrees of clearness of vision. All are part of one ocean
of truth. The more this is realized the easier is it to see the true
relationship between all beliefs, and the wider does the vision of the one great
ocean become. Limitations and boundaries are inevitable in human life; forms and
conventions are natural and necessary; but they none the less separate humanity.
It is the wise who can meet one another beyond these boundaries.